


Winter's Serenity

by inksheddings



Category: Loveless
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-04-12
Updated: 2008-04-12
Packaged: 2017-10-17 10:00:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/175630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inksheddings/pseuds/inksheddings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ritsuka, Kio, and a couple of Chupa Chups: what better way to remember?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Winter's Serenity

Winter was only a month away, but the weather was unusually warm. Ritsuka was comfortable enough wearing a windbreaker over short sleeves and jeans.

The park was nearly empty, though, which somehow seemed wrong. A beautiful day like this, but no one was taking advantage of it. Ritsuka looked up at the sky. He'd been doing his best to take advantage of all his days, beautiful or not.

"Hey, kid."

He had long since given up trying to get Kio to stop calling him that (he was fifteen after all) but his ears and tail still reacted negatively, flattening and bristling in irritation, which only made Kio laugh. Of course.

Ritsuka supposed that making Kio laugh wasn't exactly a bad thing.

But the hand now ruffling through his hair? No fucking way.

"Kio! Knock that off!"

He elbowed Kio fairly hard, forcing an audible _oomph_ out of him but doing nothing to get rid of his amused expression.

Kio took a seat on the bench. Ritsuka was sitting on top of the picnic table itself. They sat silently for a while, and Ritsuka closed his eyes as he turned his face toward the sun. Its warmth felt good. He relaxed his shoulders as his tail swished leisurely back and forth.

"Are we...I don't know, going to talk about it–about him–or something? Remember the good old days? Have a picnic?"

Kio laughed again, but this time there was an edge of sadness in the sound.

Ritsuka understood, he felt it too, but he didn't know how to address it. He could blame in on still being a kid, but he hadn't _lived_ like a kid for a long while now.

Still, he had asked Kio to come here because some days you just don't spend alone. He'd learned that last year, the hard way. And who else could he share today with anyway? Kio was the only one who'd cared about Soubi as much as he had. Did. Hell, it was confusing, even after two years.

"Sorry," Kio said when Ritsuka didn't answer. "Very bad joke. I was just–"

"I did tell him once. Just once, but I think he believed me. He smiled anyway."

Ritsuka glanced quickly at Kio, who was staring up at him so _seriously_. Ritsuka could feel himself starting to blush, and _that_ wasn't something that had happened recently. Not since Soubi.

"Can I ask..." Kio began, obviously uncertain because he automatically reached for one of his plentiful Chupa Chups; Ritsuka had come to recognize this behavior as something akin to a nervous tic.

"I was sleepy and– and a little upset. Mom had– well, it doesn't matter."

Kio had grimaced at mention of Ritsuka's mother, and what had occurred so long ago wasn't integral to the conversation anyway.

"But Soubi took care of me. Again and without complaint– well, with the usual teasing."

Kio rolled his eyes and shook his head, well aware of how fondly Soubi had _teased_ Ritsuka.

"As he actually... _tucked_ me into his bed," Ritsuka admitted, a wide grin taking over his face, "I realized that Soubi just...that he...oh, hell. That he loved me. So I told him. Okay?"

Ritsuka knew he had no reason to feel embarrassed about confessing anything to Kio, but he couldn't help it. He looked back up at the sky and tried to imagine the look on Soubi's face, the smirk he'd be wearing if he could eavesdrop on them right now. But he could see it all too clearly. Even only in his head, it was all too real; and that was all too much. He buried his face in his hands.

"I never told him."

Ritsuka dropped his hands and looked back at Kio, who was staring down at his own hands, clenched tightly in his lap, Chupa Chup and all.

"I mean, it's not like it wasn't fucking _obvious_ , but...."

He shrugged and returned to sucking on the lollipop, a little harder than usual. Ritsuka pressed his knee against Kio's shoulder. Kio handed him a Chupa Chup of his own before changing the subject.

"You know–and hear me out for once, okay?–I still don't think you should be living there. It's not–"

"Healthy? Yeah, I know that."

Ritsuka couldn't bring himself to leave though. When he first moved in, shortly after...well, after, he'd been certain it could only be a matter of time before he'd have to move out. The rent would come due, the electricity would be shut off. But nothing happened. _Nothing._

Whatever mysterious source had supplied Soubi with his money, it hadn't yet run out. Ritsuka couldn't bear the thought of leaving his apartment; leaving it empty yet...waiting.

"I'm just saying, I have an extra room and–"

Ritsuka laughed outright. "You mean you'd give me _your_ room and you'd sleep on the sofa."

Kio cringed and squeezed his eyes shut momentarily, but didn't give in easily. "Well, even when you put it _that_ way, it's still a good deal for you."

The wind had picked up over the last several minutes and Ritsuka felt Kio shiver against his leg; watched his too-long hair flutter about.

"The offer stands, okay?" Kio said. "Always will. Whenever your ready."

Ritsuka wondered what it would feel like to run his fingers through Kio's hair, maybe embarrass _him_ for a change. He didn't try it though. Maybe another time.

"Ah, Soubi. You magnificent bastard!"

Kio said the words with enough affection for both of them, so Ritsuka felt no need to add to the sentiment. He simply let the ghost of strong arms and even stronger devotion wrap around him, still working their magic; still keeping him safe.

Winter was only a month away, and soon Ritsuka's windbreaker wouldn't be enough to keep him warm.

"Ugh. How can you eat these things so often?" Ritsuka asked, shoving the orange-flavored Chupa Chup in Kio's face.

Kio took it and stuck it in his own mouth, right along side the watermelon-flavored one already there.

Ritsuka wrinkled his nose in disgust, but Kio just laughed and teasingly waggled his eyebrows.

The weather would change–it always did–but Ritsuka thought he understood something now. There were other ways to keep warm in this world. He wasn't sure if Soubi had ever learned that; he hoped so, if even only a little. But Ritsuka _was_ learning, slowly but surely, one Chupa Chup at a time.

 **END**   



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